~ Quirky semi-defunct Saskatoon folk rockers.

About

Q: Okay, so who are you?

For a time – a depressingly brief time, when you add it up – we all lived together in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and formed the core of The Band Known As Sea Water Bliss. There’ve been other members, over the years.

I’m Michael – guitarist, singer, and website guy. Right now I’m living in the Vancouver area. Olin and Dean live in, respectively, Texas and Scotland. Andrew is the only one who’s stuck around Saskatoon.

It’s just you and me now, Scaly Joe.

After Olin and Dean left Canada in 2003, the band never did much except make low-budget music videos and play a coffeeshop gig every once in a while. But back in the day – back in the day, my friend – we were huge. Huge!

Q: Really?

No, we were always tiny.

Q: Are we supposed to call you “Sea Water Bliss” or “The Band Known As Sea Water Bliss”?

Well, we’re sort of flexible on that, but the idea is that “The Band Known As…” is an integral part of our name.

Q: Why? That’s stupid. You’re stupid.

Y’see, the name comes from the title of a poem by my father, Roger Warner. And before you ask, no, my father’s not famous and neither is the poem. It’s just a title that stuck with me when I was a kid, and I somehow convinced the other guys it would make a good band name. It’s mostly been an inconvenience, to tell the truth.

Q: I didn’t come here to read about some small-time band with a confusing name. I came here because of the silly internet cartoons. Tell me about the silly internet cartoons!

Well, a lot of people have said we sound like the Barenaked Ladies. But we hate the Barenaked Ladies. So you might say we sound like what the Barenaked Ladies would sound like, if they hated themselves.

Q: That answer doesn’t help at all. I don’t suppose you have any recordings I could listen to?

Yes, we do.

After playing music together for almost fifteen years, during which time we never recorded anything more sophisticated than lo-fi basement tapes, in 2006 we finally completed our self-titled debut CD. It’s available on CD Baby, where you can buy it or sample the songs.

Over the years, with the help of some filmmaking friends, we made low-budget music videos for several of the songs on our album. You can watch those as well as a handful of live performances on the Songs page.

Q: What about this rock opera you’re always going on about? Any recordings of that?

Uh, no. But if you believe this extremely negative review in a local entertainment magazine, the songs were “sometimes reminiscent of the Eagles, sometimes of 10,000 Maniacs.” So that’s good, right? Just take that mean guy’s word for it.

That attractive ocean creature is Marrina, reproduced (without permission) from the early-’80s Marvel comic book Alpha Flight. For another take on Marrina, by local artist Troy Mamer (who painted our album cover, above), visit our Album art page.

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This is the official website of The Band Known As Sea Water Bliss (also known, for Googling purposes, as "The Band Known As Seawater Bliss"), the semi-defunct rock-n-roll combo based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We released an album in 2006:

Possibly you arrived at this page by following a link related to one of the videos Sea Water Bliss has put online over the years, many of them completely unrelated to the band and its music. You can learn more about these videos and their creator at The Michael A. Charles Online Presence.

If you're still not sure why you're here, you'll want to start by reading the Frequently Asked Questions on the About page, then listening to some of our music on the Songs page. After that, If you're still interested, you can dig into the history of our rock opera 404.